Chapter 30
As I sat there crying for a long while, Inabel approached from a distance, looking flustered and unsure of what to do. Wiping away my slowly falling tears, I asked her, who was hesitating near me.
“What is it?”
“Um, the snacks are ready, my lady…”
“I don’t really feel like eating.”
“But, my lady… You’ll hurt yourself like this. You should eat at least a little…”
“I truly don’t have an appetite. Right now… I just want some time alone to think.”
“My lady…”
As I held the ledger on my lap tightly to my chest, Inabel—who seemed like she was about to say more—closed her mouth. Her gaze lingered on the ledger for a moment, and a faint look of pity crossed her face.
Perhaps because she was Tiana’s closest aide, she also knew about this ledger. She just stood quietly, watching me.
After crying it all out, I felt a bit calmer. I felt the gentle spring breeze brushing against my face and pushed off the ground lightly to move the swing.
The swing creaked softly as it moved, releasing the fresh scent of grass. A sweet fragrance wafted from the small red petals blooming along the nameless plant vine that had climbed the swing’s handles.
As I swung, my gaze naturally shifted toward the building across from me. Slightly apart from the main mansion, this building was visible from the swing’s position.
It appeared smaller than the main house, but its splendid and grand exterior was no less impressive. Was it a detached annex? I hadn’t heard what the building was used for.
Every time I walked in the garden, I had been curious about that building in the distance. Butler Alfred, chief maid Loena, and even Inabel all avoided answering when I asked.
Was it something important they had to hide from me? I was about to leave the mansion soon anyway, but I still found it frustrating that they were hiding it from me.
Since I was alone with Inabel at the moment, maybe I should ask.
I stopped the swing by placing my feet on the ground and asked Inabel, who looked at me curiously.
“That building over there… It’s the annex, right?”
“Huh? Oh… yes.”
“I’ve been patient since no one would tell me, but now that my time here is almost up, don’t you think it’s about time you told me? Who stays there that everyone’s so secretive about?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Is it a high-ranking noble hiding out? I’ve seen servants heading there pretty often.”
Now that I thought about it, I had witnessed servants going to the annex at the same time every day. At first, I thought they were just going to clean, but it wasn’t just the cleaning maids—other maids went as well. That’s when I started to get suspicious.
Could it be someone from another family? Or a guest?
It wouldn’t be strange for a guest invited by the duke to stay in the annex. But I had never seen such a person. If they were a guest, they should’ve at least exchanged greetings with me, the duke’s daughter.
And it had already been two months. No matter how special the guest, it was odd for someone to stay at the duke’s mansion that long. Unless they were extremely close.
I didn’t think Edwin had invited anyone privately either. So who on earth was it?
I kept staring suspiciously at the annex while Inabel hesitated as if debating something internally. Then, glancing toward the annex, she finally spoke.
“Actually… Young master is staying there.”
“Young master? Whose young master?”
“Um… your younger brother… Young Master Lennox.”
“What? Ah… Lennox…?”
Caught off guard, I blankly repeated the name I’d just heard. Lennox. It was definitely familiar. In the original story, Tiana’s younger brother and the duke’s heir was named Lennox Quinn Celeste.
After possessing Tiana’s body, I hadn’t seen him around the mansion and assumed he was elsewhere. I thought he was at the Imperial Academy?
In the original, Lennox had exceptional talent for magic and was mentioned as having re-entered the academy for advanced magic studies, recommended by Edwin.
He returned after graduating when the original plot progressed, around the time Tiana was active in social circles and got into trouble with Angelica.
We weren’t at that point in the story yet, but since I hadn’t seen him, I assumed he was already at the academy. So why was he staying in the annex?
“Why is he there? He’s my brother and the heir, isn’t he? Why is he…?”
“Well, actually… the young master is under house discipline right now.”
“Discipline? Did he do something wrong?”
“Well… if you could call it wrong… I don’t know the full story either, but apparently, he was with you when the accident happened. Something must’ve happened then…”
“What? What happened?”
“I really don’t know. I was elsewhere at the time, under your orders.”
“…I see.”
I never imagined Lennox had something to do with the accident. Could he have heard strange things from the previous possessor too? Maybe he lost his temper and caused the accident?
…No, surely not. Even if their relationship was bad, it wasn’t enough for him to intentionally cause an accident. There was no reason for that, unless the possessor had said something truly vile to him or even hit him. …Right?
As my unease grew and I stayed silent, Inabel, perhaps misunderstanding my expression, quickly changed the subject.
“But don’t worry! The two-month discipline period ordered by the duke ends today. I heard he’ll be moving back to the main house today.”
“Today? Really?”
“Yes. You’ll probably see him at dinner tonight.”
That brought a whole new level of tension. As I stood there, stunned, Inabel smiled reassuringly, but I found myself thinking about the brother I was about to meet.
Lennox. Lennox Quinn Celeste. To be honest, I didn’t know much about him.
He’s the heir to the dukedom, talented in magic, later becomes a close aide to the emperor, and is very active in state affairs and social circles. Oh—and he has a sweet tooth.
Other than that, I didn’t know much. If I ended up meeting him, I had no idea how to act around him. I’ve never had a younger brother before.
Even in the modern world, while staying with my aunt’s family, all the older cousins were sisters or brothers. I didn’t really know what it was like to have a younger sibling. Besides, my cousins weren’t exactly kind to me either.
Can I just treat him the way I’ve treated everyone else? I had a feeling this was going to be more complicated than expected, and my head started to ache.
As if to comfort me, a warm breeze blew. I slowly tilted my head toward the sunny sky. Unlike my tangled thoughts, the May weather, filled with spring’s breath, was beautiful.
Staring at the clear, cloudless blue sky, I softly rocked the swing and murmured his name.
“Lennox… Lennox… hmm…”
My vision blurred slightly as fragments of memory surfaced. Again. Whenever this body recalled Tiana’s memories, they came back in small pieces like this.
Tiana and Lennox, enjoying horseback riding together. Their bright smiles as they looked at each other suggested a closer relationship than I’d thought.
‘Sister.’
‘Reno.’
The memory fragment ended there. The strange feeling I had while repeating his name came from that—the way she called him. Tiana had called him by the nickname Reno.
“Reno. So… Reno, huh.”
It did suit his soft, curly red hair better than ‘Lennox’. It was a cute nickname. As I repeated it to myself a few more times, Inabel suddenly looked at me, startled.
“My lady, just now…!”
“What’s wrong?”
“You… you called the young master by name…”
“Hm? You mean ‘Reno’? I just remembered she used to call him that…”
“My lady…!”
“W-What is it?”
Was it really that shocking for me to call my brother by a nickname? Inabel looked moved, approaching with an emotional expression, and I was a bit flustered.
She even started tearing up. Feeling helpless and somewhat baffled, I reached out to comfort her.
Then, I saw an unfamiliar silhouette approaching behind her. Tilting my head slightly, I saw him—the boy from the memory fragment.
Curly red hair and pale sky-blue eyes. A young man, just on the cusp of adulthood. He felt completely different from the other men I’d met so far.
Was this the sense of siblings—blood-related but different from Edwin and my soon-to-be husband, Lucius? There was a magnetic pull, something I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
“Reno…?”
Without realizing it, I spoke his nickname aloud. Inabel flinched and turned around. Her face filled with shock. The stiff expression on his face softened slightly, and he looked at me with a strange expression.
“…Sister.”
Right after, Alfred and several other servants arrived in a hurry. Hearing those words, they too looked shocked and stared at us in disbelief.
A heavy silence settled over the place.
